Crutch attachment



Feb. 25, 1 969 R. J. HERMAN 3,429,541

CRUTCH ATTACHMENT Filed Nov. 30, 1966 Fol/MAW: J. HERMAN BY .Bnm

ATTORNEY Z4 INVENTOR v United States Patent Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The invention discloses a crutch attachment which is designed to assist persons using crutches to carry objects such as books. It is particularly useful for, but not limited to use by, students and the like who must carry books from one class to another. The attachment includes opposed aligned pivots which extend through the bowed sides of the crutch, arms extending downwardly from the pivots on opposite sides of the bowed sides, laterally extending parallel supporting portions of the lower ends of said arms and an inverted U-shaped connecting member extending upwardly from the outer ends of said supporting portions and based toward said arms to retain objects against said crutch.

This invention relates to an improvement in crutch attachment and deals particularly with a simple device which may be attached to a crutch, and which may be used for carrying items of various sorts, leaving both hands of the user free for manipulating the crutches.

Persons who use crutches have considerable difiiculty in carrying books, items of apparel, small parcels and the like. For example, students who must walk with the aid of crutches have difficulty in carrying school books between home and school, and from one class to another. In some instances, the school books are strapped together and suspended from the hand during movement. However, unless the books are strapped directly to the body of the crutch, the books have a tendency to swing about and interfere with the user of the crutches. The difliculty is emphasized when the person involved is sufiering a temporary injury and is not particularly adept at handling the crutches.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention resides in the provision of a simple attachment which is designed to hold books or other articles against the surface of its crutch where it preferably will not shift about during movement of the crutch. In preferred form, the attachment includes a pair of arms which extend longitudinally along opposite sides of the crutch, supporting portions bent at generally right angles to these arms and extending outwardly in parallel relation to form a support upon which books or other articles may be supported, and inverted generally U-shaped connecting member connecting the forward ends of the supporting portions and extending upwardly therefrom to hold the books or other articles supported by the supporting portions against the outer surface of the crutch. The upper ends of the arms are bent to provide aligned pivots, the ends of which may be threaded to accommodate wing nuts or similar fastening means. These pivots are designed to extend through aligned apertures in opposite sides of the crutch to pivotally secure the attachment in place.

A feature of the present invention resides in the provision of a crutch attachment which may be inexpensively produced of material such as spring wire or the like which will tend to clamp articles such as books in place so that they will not slip out of the carrier during movement of the crutches.

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A further feature of the present invention resides in the fact that the attachment may normally be applied to the crutches by inserting the pivotal ends of the carrier through opposed apertures on opposite sides of the crutch which are normally present for hand grip adjustment. The attachment is usually secured to the crutch somewhat below the hand grip so as not to interfere with the hand in the manipulation of the crutches.

A further feature of the present invention resides in the provision of a device of the type described in which the body of the attachment is provided with a coating or covering of rubber or similar material which will reduce slippage between the attachment and the articles being carried.

These and other objects and novel features of the present invention will be more clearly and fully set forth in the following specification and claims.

In the drawings forming a part of the specification FIGURE 1 is a front elevational view of a crutch showing the attachment in place thereupon.

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the attachment in place upon the crutch, and showing a pair of books being supported thereby.

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of the attachment removed from the crutch.

FIGURE 4 is a side elevational view of the attachment on the crutch.

The attachment is indicated in general by the letter A, and is illustrated at attached to a crutch which is illustrated in general by the letter B. As will be noted from the following description, the attachment may serve its purpose in carrying various articles which other persons capable of walking without the aid of crutches would normally hold in the hand or hands.

The crutch B is of conventional form, including a pair of bowed sides 10 which terminate at their upper ends in a bearing member 11 designed to engage between the arm and the body at the shoulder. The lower ends of the crutch sides 10 extend on opposite sides of a leg 12 which may be adjustably secured thereto as indicated at 13. A crutch tip 14 is provided at the lower end of the leg. A hand grip 15 extends between the crutch sides 10 by means of which the crutch may be manipulated. The hand grip 15 is held in place by axially extending screws such as 16 or other suitable means.

As is indicated in FIGURE 2 of the drawings, the bowed sides 10 of the crutch are usually provided with a number of pairs of aligned apertures 17 through which the screws 16 may be inserted. This plurality of apertures is provided so that the distance between the bearing number 11 and the hand grip 15 may be adjusted to suit the individual using the crutches. One pair of opposed aligned apertures 17 is used to support the attachment A. If no adjustment apertures 17 are provided, aligned holes may be drilled in the crutch sides 10.

The attachment is constructed as is best illustrated in FIGURE 3 of the drawings. As is indicated in this figure, the attachment A includes a pair of generally parallel arms 19 which are spaced apart a distance slightly greater than the distance between the outer surfaces of the crutch sides 10. The upper ends of the arms 19 are bent at right angles as indicated to provide aligned pivot part 20. These pivot parts are designed to extend through the aligned apertures 17 which have been described. The attachment A is made of sufficiently flexible material so that the arms 19 may be spread apart to permit insertion of the bearing portions 20 into the apertures. In preferred form, the attachment is primarily made of resilient spring steel or suitable other such material.

The ends 21 of the bearing portions 20 are threaded as indicated to accommodate wing nuts 22. The wing nuts 22 hold the attachment assembled upon the crutch. If desired, knobs or suitable projections 23 may be provided on the arm ends 20 and designed to limit the insertion of the pivot ends into the crutch apertures. These projections 23 bear against the outer surface of the crutch, or against a washer encircling each pivot end 20 outwardly of the crutch side.

The lower ends of the arms 19 are bent generally horizontally as indicated at 24 to form a supporting surface upon which books, parcels or the like may rest. The supporting portions 24 extend forwardly in generally parallel relation to fold along the crutch sides when the carrier is not in use. The forward ends of the supporting portions 24 are connected to an inverted U-shaped or V-shaped connecting member including upwardly converging arms 25 connected at their upper ends with a rounded connecting portion 26. In preferred form, the arms 25 usually incline somewhat toward the plane of the arms 19. As a result, the U-shaped portion is normally biased inwardly to engage against books or other objects resting against the arms 19.

A flexible resilient tubing 27 usually overlies the body portion of the attachment to protect the books or articles carried by the attachment from being marred by the resilient wire. Alternatively, the body portion of the attachment may be coated with a rubber or rubber-like composion for accomplishing the same results.

When the device is not in use, the arms 19 extend along the crutch sides 19, and the supporting portions and the connecting portion of the attachment overlie the outer surface of the crutch. Books or other items may be inserted between the arms 19 and the U-shaped connecting member with the books or other articles resting upon the supporting portions 24 of the attachment.

The structure described includes a generally channelshaped attachment which is pivotally connected along its upper edge to the crutch, and which is capable of accommodating books or similar articles resting upon the base of the channel-shaped member and supported between the sides thereof.

In accordance with the Patent Ofiice Statues, I have described the principles of construction and operation of my improvement in crutch attachment and while I have endeavored to set forth the best embodiment thereof, I desire to have it understood that changes may be made within the scope'of the following claims without depart ing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. A crutch attachment, a crutch having a pair of bowed sides connected by a bearing portion at their upper ends, a leg portion at their lower ends, a hand grip connected between said sides, and said crutch sides having a pair of aligned apertures therethrough on an axis generally parallel to the axis of said hand grip, the attachment including a pair of arms extending longitudinally of the crutch sides outwardly thereof, a pair of aligned pivots on said arms extending inwardly through the aligned apertures in the crutch sides, article supporting portions extending generally horizontally from the lower ends of the arms, and an article retaining portion connecting the ends of said article supporting portions and extending upwardly therefrom in spaced relation to the plane of said arms.

2. The structure of claim 1 and in which said arms, aligned pivots, article supporting portions and article retaining portion are formed of a single unitary wire rod construction.

3. The structure of claim 1 and including a covering of rubber-like material on said arms, article supporting portions and article retaining portion.

4. The structure of claim 1 and in which the inner ends of said pivots are threaded, and including retaining means threaded on said pivots.

5. A crutch attachment including,

a pair of arms extending in substantially parallel relation, a pair of pivots at one end of said arms in aligned relation, abutment means on said aligned pivots spaced from the ends thereof and adapted to engage against opposite sides of a crutch, retaining means on said aligned pivots adjacent to the ends thereof and adapted to retain said pivots in place, article supporting portions extending from the other ends of said arms substantially in parallel spaced relation, and an article retaining portion extending upwardly from the ends of said article supporting portions spaced from said arms, said article retaining portion inclining toward the plane of said parallel arms, said arms, aligned pivots, article supporting portions and article retaining portion being formed of a single unitary resilient wire rod construction.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 568,469 9/ 1896 Abrams 21 1106' XR 2,706,517 4/1955 Dexter et al. 248303 XR 2,778,370 1/1957 Chamblee -49 2,929,886 3/1960 Marback 248303 XR 2,980,380 4/1961 Gibson 248--21l JOHN PETO, Primary Examiner.

U.S. Cl. X.R. 

